


Becoming the Villain

by Bec (Rimbaum)



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: AU where no one knows Danny is Phantom, Gen, badger cereal
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-23
Updated: 2016-02-23
Packaged: 2018-05-22 17:59:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6089259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rimbaum/pseuds/Bec
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>With no one, not even Sam and Tucker, knowing that Danny Fenton is secretly Phantom, Vlad's offer to teach him is a lot more tempting. When Amity Park, his friends, and even his own family turn against him and see him as the villain, who else is left for Danny to turn to?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"We know something's wrong, Danny. At least go talk to her?" Jazz pleaded with him as they stood outside the school counselor's door. Ever since the accident, Danny had been evasive around his family and friends. Not that they even knew there _was_ an accident. How could he tell them? Not only would he get the chewing out of a lifetime, there was no telling how his friends and family would even react.

To his friends, he'd be seen as a freak at best. To his family… an experiment at worst. There was already talk about capturing the mysterious 'ghost boy' to study him. Danny shuddered at the thought, which got a concerned look from his sister. "Nothing's _wrong_ , Jazz, and I don't appreciate the fact that you're shoving me into this." Apparently, he hadn't been as careful as he'd thought about hiding the injuries he got from fighting ghosts, and his family and friends thought he was cutting himself. The worst part was that he couldn't refute their claims without telling them exactly how he was _actually_ getting those injuries.

"Danny…" Jazz frowned, reaching out a hand to place on his shoulder—which he quickly shrugged away. "We're just worried about you."

"Well there's nothing to worry _about_ , Jazz! I'm. **Fine**. Now buzz off, before I'm late for class." Again. Ghost attacks had been keeping him from getting into class on time, and the last thing he wanted was for his family and friends to think he was skipping.

Thanks to Jazz's needling, Danny barely made it to Lancer's class on time. He sighed and flopped down into his seat, resting his head on the desk in front of him. Next to him, Tucker poked his shoulder. "Hey man, you okay? You barely made it."

"Yeah, I'm good. Jazz almost made me late trying to get me to talk to the new school counselor." Danny sighed, glancing up to make sure Lancer wasn't paying too close attention to the three friends in the back of the classroom chatting with each other.

"Are you sure you shouldn't? I mean, you've been acting pretty weird lately." Sam looked… well, worried. It gave Danny a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach, having to keep this from them. But they just wouldn't understand. He was the only one who could do what he was doing, they'd just try to talk him out of it. Danny couldn't let that happen.

"Oh great, so you're taking _her_ side?"

Sam held up her hands, backing off a little. Beside him, Tucker rubbed at Danny's shoulder, causing him to tug on his long sleeves to keep the bandages from showing as his shirt shifted. Not that rumors hadn't been flying around his close circle about that already. _'Thanks again, Jazz.'_ Danny thought bitterly to himself.

"We're your friends, Danny. You've always told us everything. Maybe whatever's going on is too heavy for you to tell us, but Ms. Spectra's supposed to be a licensed therapist, right? She's gotta be able to help you out if we can't."

Danny groaned and settled his his head back down onto the table. Tucker had at least some point. Maybe he couldn't tell Ms. Spectra everything, but there _were_ some things he should try to get off his chest. Who knew, maybe at bare minimum the counselor could help him with his bullying problem. He'd been using his ghost powers a bit more liberally to try and avoid getting beaten to a pulp, but he still had to keep from getting caught. Some advice on dealing with all of that on a more normal, human basis might take some stress off him and help keep him from aggravating his ghost-fighting injuries.

Of course, there was one person who _would_ understand what he was going through, but Danny didn't want to think about him. Vlad was… Well, he wasn't the nicest of guys to begin with, what with trying to kill Danny's dad and get with his mom (ew). Still, that offer of teaching him was awfully tempting.

When they'd met, Danny had been grossly unprepared. He hadn't even been able to do those energy blasts or shields like Vlad had used against him, let alone the whole duplication thing. The only reason he walked away without more injuries was because of his blackmail against the older man. It was a terrifying prospect, for sure, but Danny would rather risk his parents finding out about him than let Vlad kill either one of them. Even if… his parents might rip him apart 'molecule by molecule,' as his dad so often liked to say.

"Mr. Fenton." Lancer's voice right next to him snapped Danny out of his thoughts, and he looked up at his teacher with a red flush to his face.

"Yes, Mr. Lancer?"

"Oh good, now that we've determined that there's nothing wrong with your _hearing_ , maybe you would care to answer the question?"

That sick feeling in Danny's stomach got worse as he realized he'd spaced out. Sure, he'd made it to class on time, but now he was slacking off. Just great. And to make it all worse, his classmates were snickering at him for being singled out.

"Er… what was the question again?" He hated asking, because the moment the words left his mouth the rest of the class was laughing at him.

Lancer frowned, shaking his head. "We can go over the details of Maya Angelou's poetry in detention, Mr. Fenton. I'll see you after school."

Just what he needed, _detention_. Danny prayed there wouldn't be any ghosts around in that case, because getting in trouble for skipping his punishment would have him grounded at home for sure.

 

* * *

 

By the time lunch rolled around, Danny just wanted to skip the rest of the school day and go home to sleep. Without the adrenaline of a ghost attack, he found himself nodding off in most of his classes. Which, of course, only earned him more reprimands, and soured his mood even further.

"I'm starting to think Danny's parents are right. Some of the weird things going on lately are too weird to be normal."

"Oh please, Tucker, ghosts aren't real. And even if they were, I don't think Danny's parents would be up for actually fighting them. I mean, have you seen his dad? Er. No offense, Danny."

Danny forced a slight grin, getting that much-needed adrenaline boost in one of the worst possible ways. He should've just gotten an energy drink from the vending machine instead, maybe then he could've missed this conversation. "Dad knows how to shoot when it counts, and Mom's a crack shot with those guns. They're just a little overenthusiastic." Which is what scared him the most.

"What about that supposed ghost kid? You know, the one in the black jumpsuit?"

Tucker's question made Danny's heart beat much too fast, blood pounding in his ears. "What about him?"

Sam rolled her eyes, scoffing at the mere mention of ghosts. "Look, if ghosts _were_ real, they wouldn't go around rescuing people, Tucker. Whatever keeps ghosts going after death can't be anything pleasant, or helpful. If he exists? That ghost kid is up to something."

"Yeah… You're probably right. Hey Danny, didn't your parents say that ghosts were, uh, how'd they phrase it?" Tucker tried to strain his memory.

"Malevolent ectoplasmic entities. Try to keep up, Tucker." Sam said as she sat down at the table, followed shortly by Tucker.

"Whoops. Yeah. But basically, ghosts are evil, right? At least that's what your parents say."

Oh no. Danny swallowed, trying not to feel sick. Here he thought he was trying to prove that not all ghosts were evil. That he could be someone people could look up to. And even his friends couldn't see that.

"I… I'm not really feeling too great, guys. I'll catch you after school." Danny didn't want to be around anymore. He didn't know how much more ghost talk he could stomach without breaking down.

"Danny, wait, where are you going?" Sam reached out for Danny's arm, grabbing hold of his sleeve before he tugged it away.

"I'm going to go see the nurse. Seriously, I'll catch you after school." Danny tried to give a weak smile to reassure them.

"I've got programming club after school, dude, and you'll be in detention," Tucker reminded him.

Sam chewed her lip, averting her eyes. "I've got a family dinner I can't get out of. Sorry, Danny. Are you sure you can't stick around for lunch?"

Danny groaned, wishing he had a little more time he could spend with his friends. But… he seriously couldn't stay, not with them talking about 'evil ghosts.' Which, according to them, included their own best friend.

"Yeah. I'm sure. Look… I'll chat with you guys on skype later tonight, okay? If I'm not grounded for getting detention again." Hopefully nothing would happen and he'd be able to get home on time.

Tucker and Sam looked at each other, then back at Danny. "Yeah… Stay safe dude."

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do." Sam tried to joke, but Danny could see that she was worried he was going off to… to…

Yeah, no. He'd seriously lost his appetite. But he could think of something he could do to reassure them. "I'll see if Ms. Spectra's still around after detention and talk to her then, okay?"

The smiles on their faces was worth the potential humiliation of having to see the school shrink. Besides, how bad could she be? "Seriously. I'll talk to you guys later."

Once he was away, Danny heaved a deep sigh and let his heart stop racing. Fuck. Didn't anyone believe in what he was doing? He'd just have to try harder. There had to be _something_ he could do to prove himself, and he'd find it. Eventually.


	2. Chapter 2

Either Sam or Tucker had snitched on Danny to Jazz, because she was waiting for him outside of the school counselor's office by the time he got out of detention. "Danny, there you are! I'm so glad you're finally agreeing to see Ms. Spectra. I think this is an important first step for you. I know things are pretty hard for you right now, and I'm glad you're taking initiative to try and work through your problems."

Danny rolled his eyes, shrugging off her concern. "Look, I'm only coming because it'll get you, Sam, and Tucker off my back, and maybe I can get some advice about how to deal with Dash trying to beat me to a pulp every day." He couldn't tell anyone about what was _really_ bothering him. First off, almost no one would believe him, and the only people who would were likely to want to… Yeah, better not to think about that right before going into the counselor's office. He didn't want to seem too depressed or she might try to get him to open up about all that.

"Just having someone to talk to can be a major help." Danny looked up as the door opened, and he saw a tall woman with bright red hair and green eyes step out. "You're Danny, right? I'm Ms. Spectra." She offered a perfectly manicured hand to shake his.

Danny looked at her hand, then at her face, and then over at Jazz with a tired look. "Do you mind? I know you think you're a junior psychologist and all, but I don't appreciate you hanging around when I'm about to talk to an _actual_ shrink."

As Jazz chewed on her lip, Danny glared at her until she finally nodded. "Alright. I'll be waiting in the computer lab for you when you get out."

It wasn't until Danny started to leave that he turned back to Ms. Spectra and shook her hand. "Sorry to leave you hanging. She's just… really bossy and nosy."

"Older sisters can be that way. Why don't you come on in and tell me what's bothering you. I think I heard mention of bullying?" Ms. Spectra settled an actually somewhat chilly hand on his shoulder, giving him a shiver as she led him into the equally cold room.

"Wow, you really like the air conditioning on high, don't you? I think I can see my breath." Danny tried to joke, relieved a little when it got a slight chuckle out of the counselor. She seemed nice enough, maybe this wouldn't be so bad.

"Well Danny, I find that cold temperatures keep people alert and active. It's crucial for growing minds and bodies to stay sharp." Ms. Spectra sat down in her chair, motioning for Danny to sit across from her. "Now about this bullying."

Yeah. That. The reason Danny agreed to finally get involved with this whole thing so he could just get the tiniest bit of relief from the stress in his life. "Well, it started with Dash in like third grade, I think? He was a fairly popular kid, and always has been, while I've just been sorta… average. Kind of a loser, actually." His voice fell as he admitted that. It was hard to say—harder than he'd thought it would be, really.

"What makes you think you're a loser, Danny?" Ms. Spectra leaned closer, concern etched in her eyebrows. "Surely you've got some good qualities you can think of."

Good qualities? Nothing he could tell a school counselor. Nothing he could really tell anyone, except maybe _him_. And Plasmius would just belittle Danny for 'trying to play the hero.' According to him, ghost powers were supposed to be used for selfish reasons. It made the guy come off like a cartoon villain.

"That's just it! My family is full of geniuses and I'm at best a C-average student. I feel like sometimes even my best friends look down on me, especially lately. Like I'm someone to be pitied. I don't want pity, I want to feel like I'm _doing_ something with my life. And the one thing I do to actually feel good about myself, people think that I'm up to something awful!"

"I think this hobby of yours, whatever you're doing to feel good, you should listen to your family and friends. They're obviously worried about you. Surely it's something you can talk to them about."

Oh great, another person telling him to open up to his family about his ghost powers. Not that Ms. Spectra actually knew that was his problem. How could she? Danny shivered again at the cold, and this time he actually swore he _could_ see his breath. "I… I can't. They don't know it's me doing it. If I tell them, at best they'll try to get me to stop, and at worst…" He trailed off. "At worst, they'll hate me for it."

Ms. Spectra hummed softly, leaning her elbows on the desk with her chin in her hands. "It sounds to me like you're scared of them. Why is that?"

Danny's heart sank. Of _course_ he was scared of his family. They'd never accept him for what he was. "It's… complicated. I don't really wanna talk about it." How could he possibly tell someone that he was afraid his own parents would experiment on him, or worse—kill him?

"Hmm. Well, I want you to know that I believe in you, Danny. If you ever need someone to talk to, even when no one else will listen or understand, I'm right here." She got up and walked over to the door, opening it and motioning towards the outside. "I don't want to be too nosy like your sister, so if you feel up to leaving now, I completely understand."

Danny smiled, a bit relieved that Ms. Spectra wasn't going to question him any further. She was nice, and even if Danny left the office feeling worse than before, he at least got the feeling that she really did listen and care. She hadn't even been too pushy about asking him what was wrong, she just sort of… let him talk it out on his own. Unlike Jazz, who was constantly asking him to explain what was going on in his head. His sister could learn a few things from a _real_ therapist.

 

* * *

 

Fortunately for him, Danny wasn't grounded from the computer when he got home. No, his punishment was to clean up the lab. It wasn't ideal, but he knew he was definitely getting off lighter than he should have been. At least Jazz was good for _something_ —she'd gotten their parents to agree that seeing Ms. Spectra after detention was worth going easy on the punishment. Oblivious as his parents were sometimes, they could still see that 'something was up' with Danny and had been encouraging him to talk to someone, even his friends, about it. Honestly, they seemed a little relieved.

Suddenly, he was glad he'd seen Ms. Spectra. Danny had gotten his family off his back, and that in itself was a small weight off his shoulders. Sure, he'd left with more doubts about what he was getting into than when he'd gone in, but he still thought it was the right thing to do. He'd definitely be seeing the school counselor again.

Danny was at the utility sink, cleaning up the lab equipment when his parents came downstairs with some new gadget. He'd been trying to keep an eye on what they were developing, if only for his own protection. If they came up with something too dangerous, he could always break it 'by accident' and buy himself some time to learn how to defend against it. "Hey Dad, what'cha got?" If nothing else, his sudden interest in what they were doing had the effect of keeping their minds off any uneasiness he had when they were talking.

"Well, I haven't come up with a proper name for it yet, but it's a handheld ectoplasmic energy blaster. It's only a prototype, because we don't have enough ectoplasm to fuel it yet. See, it straps onto your hand like so…" Jack demonstrated how to put it on, and all Danny could think of was how easy it would be to hide under a pair of fingerless gloves. It was really small and compact, with the flat 'muzzle' fitting up against the palm of his hand. And the description of what it did…

Ectoplasmic energy blasts. Like those ghost rays that Plasmius had used against him. And as a ghost, didn't Danny have plenty of ectoplasm to spare? If the only thing keeping it from working as more than a prototype right now was a lack of power source, like with the Fenton Thermos, then maybe he could get the blaster to work. Then he wouldn't be so defenseless the next time he faced a ghost—or the next time he had to face down Plasmius.

"Huh. That's actually pretty cool. Do you think it'll work once you get enough ectoplasm to run it?" He knew that some of their guns were ectoplasm-based, but Danny wasn't sure about the details on how exactly they ran.

"Of course it will, Sweetie. Your father's a brilliant inventor, and we've been doing research with ectoplasm for years. Now if we could just get our hands on an actual ghost instead of the ectoplasmic residue they leave behind, we'd really be able to power up our weapons." The sudden realization of where they got their ectoplasm from was both a relief and slightly terrifying. If the weapons they built could seriously hurt him with just _residue_ , what would happen if they got their hands on an actual ghost?

Danny swallowed thickly, almost afraid to ask. "Got any particular ghost in mind, or will just any old ghost do?" There was a sinking feeling in his gut as he felt like he knew what the answer was going to be.

"Why that ghost kid. Inviso-Bill they're calling him." Ouch, really? Inviso-Bill? Sure, he hadn't thought of a name for his ghostly alter-ego yet, but that was just cringe worthy. And kind of exactly the answer he was expecting from his parents.

"Why him? I mean, isn't he helping people? Or trying to, at least." Maybe he could try to make his parents see the sense in what he was doing. It might be a futile effort, but at least he could say he tried.

His parents looked at each other, then simultaneously shook their heads. "Ghosts aren't like you and me, Danny-boy. They're dangerous. You've been seeing the ghost attacks lately. What makes you think that one ghost is going to be different from all the rest of them?"

Danny dropped his gaze, looking down at his feet instead of at his parents. "Yeah. I guess." He wasn't even sure why he bothered. It wasn't like anyone else in town that believed in ghosts thought he was doing any good. Why would his parents, the supposed ghost experts, think otherwise?

He sullenly went back to working on cleaning up the lab, watching carefully out of the corner of his eye to see where Jack set down the ghost ray blaster. Danny took his own sweet time with the chores, waiting for his parents to go back upstairs. As soon as they were out of sight, he picked up the blaster and tucked it in his pocket.

Maybe next time he faced off against a ghost, he'd be a little more prepared. At least until he could learn how to use those ghost rays on his own. Although… who knew how long that would take. "You're not taking any advice from that creep, Fenton. He learned it on his own, and so can you." If he managed to survive that long.


End file.
